Gonzales:
The Trip, Part II

Cost

Telling them the Alcalde was
out of town (the nineteenth century equivalent of "he's in a meeting")
the eighteen men were able to bluff the Mexican commandant who had brought 150
dragoons with him (200 dragoons = one peso). To pass the time the Mexicans engaged
in a soccer game which took them about six miles away (Final score: Iguanas: 3
- Chihuahuas: 1). The rest as they say is history and we like to leave that to
historians.

Cost
&The Battle/ Skirmish/Fracas

The 1936 Monument Photo
by John Troesser, April 2000

Continue
down 183 where it will split. Take Highway 97 and look for a large
roadside marker after about six miles. Here is the handsome monument
erected in 1936 and executed by the adopted daughter of Popino Copini, which is
a fun name to say with an Italian accent. After appreciating this, don't leave,
but continue on Spur 95 to come to yet another marker erected by
the school children of Gonzales (between you and me, I think they had some help).
This is the site of the fight, where the truth was revealed to the Mexican Force.
"We've got the cannon, you don't!" "The Alcalde wasn't really out
of town, he was in a meeting!" "You need 50 more dragoons to make a
peso!" These insults, quips and barbs were hurled with such force, that the
Mexican force retreated from the field, leaving one extremely sensitive dragoon,
dead from insults. The cannon was fired and heard by the citizens of Gonzales.
The touch-hole had been spiked previously and it expended nearly as much force
from there as from the muzzle.

History
aside, this is a beautiful put-in point if you brought a canoe. Water lilies
blooms in the summer. The elephant ears line the banks like they do in New Braunfels
and San Marcos. The local canoe rental agency has suspended operations for at
least another season.

Herons
and egrets can be seen near the river and in low-lying areas. Birdwatching
is fruitful and nearby Palmetto
Park (see Gonzales side trip) is the home to a large concentration
of Caracaras.

This concludes our visit to Gonzales. Please remain in your car
until it comes to a complete stop. We enjoyed having you and hope
that you will visit us again in the near future. Remember - If you
don't care where you are, you're not lost.